Himawari Like the Summer Flower
by Ayanami116
Summary: Young Neji never felt any hesitation towards the many rules set forth by the Hyuga clan...until one hot summer day when he accidentally sets foot inside the forbidden garden and meets a strange girl. For now it's NejiOC, later NejiOCItachi.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto is the Property of Artist Kishimoto Masashi serealized on Weekly Shounen Jump Magazine.

If you enjoyed reading this chapter, please feel free to give me any comments or feedback with the review button on the bottom. :-)

Life; everything in it is preordained…

We are all born to live what was destined for us.

It doesn't matter if you wanted it or not.

Fair? Who said any of our lives were going to be fair?

All men were not created equal…

Only those who were destined to claim happiness will live happily…

While all the rest of us are trapped in misery like caged birds.

Just waiting…waiting for the only thing in life…

Every man shares…

[his **death**

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**Himawari--Like the Summer Flower**

**Chapter 1: Summer Flower**

Ever since I can remember, I knew that being born into such a prestigious family such as the Hyuga would require me to follow certain rules.

There were many rules…disguised as customs and traditions, to live by if you were part of the Hyuga clan. And I was raised to embody every single one of them since the day I was born into this world…

I'm not really sure if it was because I was so young…

Or simply because it was all in my nature to be so obedient…

But I don't remember ever questioning the rules.

"You must never enter the far west garden…"

was also one of those rules that all Hyuga children were taught to obey, and of course I never even thought of asking…

"why?"

It just became so obvious that the far west garden was off-limits that soon the children treated it as being almost…

non-existent.

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One very hot summer day, me and a couple of the neighborhood children were out playing ninja games as usual.

"Phew! Man…it's hot today!"

said one of the children.

"Ick! I'm all sweaty!"

said another.

"Let's do something else, you guys. It's too hot to be running around playing ninja!"

said the other.

"Fine. Why don't we play hide-n-seek? That way only one of will have to move around while the rest can just hide?"

I said to them.

"Agreed!!!!"

they all shouted.

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"So why did I have to be the one to find everyone?"

I asked myself as I lazily began my search for the other children. I remember swearing that that was going to be the last time I ever suggested another game.

"Found you!"

"Awwwww! No fair, Neji's too good!"

"::Sigh:: Yea, yea…now to find the last guy…"

After some grueling minutes of playing "it," I managed to find all of them except one.

I continued searching for the last child to end my turn, but I just couldn't seem to find him. The burning sun was shining right above our heads by then and the search became more and more of a chore.

"Ugh! Where in the world could he be!?"

I started to get really agitated with the whole situation, and was just about ready to give up and go home.

When I heard a voice.

It was almost too faint to make out but I heard him.

I was so glad that this session of hide-n-seek was finally coming to end so I just ran as fast I could to where the voice was coming from.

"Finally! I got you now!"

I thought.

But I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw exactly where the voice was coming from.

The garden I had forgotten it had even existed until that very moment.

"That idiot!! He knows we aren't supposed to go in here!"

I looked up at the entrance of the garden we were told never to enter.

I put my ear to the entrance door to listen for the boy's voice again. It felt so strange standing there in front of the garden I barely was aware of. I quietly listened for his voice and for some strange reason, right at that moment, it seemed like the whole world stood still. The noisy cicadas seemed to have stopped buzzing, and the voices of the people in the surrounding houses were hushed.

Even the wind seemed to have stopped blowing. The only sound I was hearing was my own heartbeat as I placed my ear on that gate.

Then, I heard it…

The faint humming coming from inside of the garden.

"That idiot!"

I thought.

"Not only has he broken the rules, but he doesn't even care he did and is carelessly humming to himself!?"

I knew I had to be the responsible one and get him out of there. I ran around the corner along the gates which surrounded the garden and looked for another entrance.

"That idiot must have snuck in through a hole in the gate trying to find a place to hide and didn't even notice himself wandering into the garden."

As I searched for another entrance, I found a small hole near the bottom of the gate near the back end of the garden.

"He must have gotten in through here!"

I thought, and crawled into the space.

When I got to the other side, I was shocked to find myself surrounded by plants!

"What!? What the…what is this?!"

They seemed to be some stems of plant-life. Was it some tall grass?! These were so tall and full that the ground where I was crawling grew dark and cool from their shadows.

"Hmph! So much for taking care of the garden. These things are so overgrown. No wonder he chose this place. This is the best place!"

I dusted the dirt off my knees and got up to begin searching for that boy. But when I stood up out from underneath the overgrown grass, my eyes caught sight of something I have never ever seen in my life.

"W-WOW!!!"

was all I could say when my eyes were suddenly seeing a barrage of vibrant orange and yellow flowers. The overgrown grass was not grass at all, they were the stems of these flowers!

I remember standing there for a few seconds shocked.

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The magnificent flowers, waved to and fro as the wind blew through the garden. For some reason, I totally forgot the reason why I was there and just stared at the flowers waving back and forth like waves of the ocean. It seemed to relax me and I felt myself beginning to feel a little sleepy.

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"Is someone there?"

Suddenly I was pulled back into reality when I heard a voice from the other side of the garden.

I looked towards where the voice was coming from and was shocked for the second time that day.

There, among the sea of the effervescent flowers stood a young girl.

She wore an elaborate azure layered kimono accented to look even more by the surrounding orange and yellow flowers.

Although she had a tiny frame, the layers of her kimono did not overwhelm her at all.

Her black glistening hair coming down to her shoulders were decorated by numerous gold hair ornaments giving her porcelain skin a true glow.

At first, I thought I was dreaming and she was just a figment of my imagination.

We stared at each other like that for a few more seconds.

"Wh-what…who…who are you?"

was all I was able to say at that moment.

Her pink lips like a cherry blossom blooming early in the winter snow slightly parted to tell me…

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"Himawari."

A Sorry Excuse called "Afterword"--

So here is the first chapter to Himawari--Like the Summer Flower. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The idea for this story has been going around and around in my head for a while now and I finally got up the courage to start writing it.

Just some notes: "Himawari" means Sunflower in Japanese. With most flowers, the Japanese like to have a sort of message or "hana-kotoba" attached to them and with the Sunflower, its flower message is "I will always watch you." or "You are strong." This message might come from the Greek myth related to the sunflower.

Lastly, if you did sort of enjoy reading this chapter, and would like to see more, please review, and tell me what you thought.

Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of its author, and not me.

Please, if you enjoyed reading the story, please review. :-)

Life; everything in it is preordained…

We are all born to live what was destined for us.

It doesn't matter if you wanted it or not.

Fair? Who said any of our lives were going to be fair?

All men were not created equal…

Only those who were destined to claim happiness will live happily…

While all the rest of us are trapped in misery like caged birds.

Just waiting…waiting for the only thing in life…

Every man shares…

[his **death**

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**Himawari-Like the Summer Flower**

**Chapter 2: Hiding and Seeking**

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"Himawari."

"Huh?"

Her voice was very delicate but I didn't miss a single syllable.

"The flowers. They're Himawaris."

"Uh, …oh! Um, I've never seen anything like them before. They're so big…and, and bright!"

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"Are they…too strange?"

She asked, as she looked down.

I was not close enough to see clearly, but she looked a bit disappointed…

As if we were actually speaking of her and not the flowers.

"N-no, I…I think they're really beautiful!"

I shouted so that she can hear me.

I had no idea why I rushed myself to say that but I was afraid I had said something to hurt her.

She quickly looked up towards me again, and after a few more seconds, she smiled.

"I really love them too!"

For some reason, her smiling face relaxed me and made me smile also. But, at that moment, I remembered why I was there.

"Oh, um, did you see a boy come in here? I'm looking for him. We were all playing hide-n-seek outside and I think he accidentally came in here."

"A…boy?"

"He's about the same age as me. Did you see him?"

"I…"

She looked sort of confused, so I thought she couldn't hear me very well, so I began making my way through the sunflowers to get up a little closer to where she was.

"By the way, what are you doing here? You know we're not supposed to be in this garden, right?"

I moved the endless waves of sunflowers out of my way and kept walking towards her. To the right, then to the left.

"I…didn't see anybody here."

She said, this time whispering.

"But, I heard him."

I said, while I moved in closer and closer.

"I…I don't…"

for some reason she began to look a little uneasy, the closer I was getting to her, she began to move backwards.

"Neji!!!"

Right then, I heard the kids outside calling my name.

"Hey Neji! Where'd you go!?"

"We found him!! We're all here now! Let's go home!"

"Where the heck could he be?! I thought he was supposed to be the one looking for us!?"

"Neji!!!"

So he wasn't hiding here?!

I thought.

I had to get out of the garden before they found out I was in here.

"You better go…Neji-dono."

She suddenly said to me.

I turned to look at her once more.

I wasn't able to tell when I was further away, but she seemed to be a little older than me.

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A soft breeze blew through the garden and sent a very sweet fragrance towards me.

Was it her perfume?

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help to you."

She said.

And then I saw her eyes for the first time.

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What stared back at me were not the eyes I usually saw on a Hyuga.

They reminded me of the color of the early sunset.

I wanted to look at them again so I knew if I was just seeing things.

But before I was able to d that, the girl bowed her head deeply and walked into the building adjacent to the sunflower garden.

"Wait!"

I called out to her, but she didn't look back and disappeared into the darkness of the building.

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"She didn't even tell me who she was… and what she was doing wandering around in this garden…"

I looked once more towards the building she went into.

It resembled any old mansion that were around in the Hyuga clan property.

Nobody has ever mentioned a mansion within the western garden.

Is this somebody's home?

Does that girl live here in the garden?!

"Neji!!!"

I heard the voices of the kids outside again, so I hurried towards the hole in the gate. I dove down into the darkness of the sunflower stems and left the garden. When I was on the other side of that hole, my body was suddenly all sticky with sweat again as the heat of the summer sun beat down on me.

The cicadas were noisily calling out again and I saw the children running towards me.

"Neji! There you are! Where in the world were you!?"

"We were looking all over for you! In this heat!"

"Sorry guys, I must have gotten lost while I was looking."

"And you were the one who wanted to play this game!"

"I'm tired! And all sweaty!! Let's go get some ice-cream!"

"Yea. Let's go over to Neji's house and eat his ice-cream!"

"H-hey! What!?"

"Yea!!!"

"Yea, let's go to Neji's!!"

The kids all pulled on my arms and were headed to my house.

::Sigh:: Oh well, at least I didn't have any training with Father today.

But, I knew that this was definitely going to be the last time I suggested playing hide-n-seek.

"Ice-cream! Ice-cream!"

"Yaaaaaaay!!!"

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"Hey, you guys…?"

The kids all stopped fooling around and looked back towards me.

"The far west garden…why aren't we supposed to go in there?"

I looked at all the kids, straight into their eyes and waited for them to answer me.

"I…I don't know."

Said the first child.

"Garden? What garden?"

said another.

"Because everbody says not to! Duh!"

said the other.

They didn't think anymore of it and started running towards my home again singing the "ice-cream yay" song which they just came up with. But I looked back…

Towards the garden once more before I started to walk behind them. It was faint, but in the distance, I think I heard the sunflowers swaying with the summer breeze…

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"Hii-sama, is something wrong?"

The elderly care-taker came into her young master's room. Caring for her since the moment she was born, it was not too hard for her to sense any change in her young master's mood.

It was still bright out and she usually liked to be out in the garden tending to the flowers at this time.

"Nothing is wrong Hibari. I'm sorry if I made you feel concerned."

She stood by her window staring out into the distance.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…"

"Himawari-sama?"

"…

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…Neji-dono…"

"!!??...what?"

Hibari felt her own heart stop for a few seconds.

"Neji-dono…came into the garden today…by accident….apparently, he and his friends are all told not to come near here…to this garden…"

"Oh, Himawari-sama…"

Hibari tried her best not to let her young master sense her shaking voice.

"But…I was happy. I finally…got to meet him…my cousin…Neji-dono."

When Hibari saw that tiny drops of tears were spilling from her young master's beautiful coral eyes.

It was then, she realized that she too was shedding tears.

This excuse I like to call an Afterword:

Thank you for reading this far of my fanfiction. Please review and give me some feedback. :-)

Some notes:

Layered kimono: The women of the Heian court in Japan used to wear very elaborate (and not to mention totally heavy) layered kimonos called 12 hitoe. Like the name, the kimono consisted of 12 layers. It is sort of a sign of the person's high rank in the social ladder.

Suffixes on the names: "-sama" and "-dono" are all signs of honorifics. "-sama" may be used for both sexes, but "-dono" is usually used for males.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Author/Artist Kishimoto.**

Life; everything in it is preordained…

We are all born to live what was destined for us.

It doesn't matter if you wanted it or not.

Fair? Who said any of our lives were going to be fair?

All men were not created equal…

Only those who were destined to claim happiness will live happily…

While all the rest of us are trapped in misery like caged birds.

Just waiting…waiting for the only thing in life…

Every man shares…

[his **death**

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Himawari: Like the Summer Flower

**Chapter 3: Winter Bird**

I haven't been back to that garden since that hot summer day.

At first, I couldn't get my mind off of that strange girl or the strange sunflower garden.

But, as the days turned into weeks…

and the weeks turned into months since I last saw her…

I thought about her less often.

And I wasn't even reminded of those beautiful sunflowers whenever I saw the color yellow in the street.

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The month was December, and all around the Konoha Village, people were beginning to get ready for the year-end celebrations. I was too young then to fully understand what all the noise and commotion was about outside of the Hyuga properties that day.

I didn't think that that day was any different from all of the other days…

I sat there in my room after my morning session of training with my father…

just staring at the falling leaves and some birds flying in the sky.

"Neji, my son."

"Yes, Father?"

"What were you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing. Just some birds outside."

"The birds?...Oh, they must be traveling towards a warmer climate."

"I love watching the birds. They fly so freely in the sky."

I remember my father looking a little surprised when I told him that, then I sensed a sort of dark cloud come over his expression.

I looked up at him, questioningly.

"Father?"

"Neji…do you wish to be free? Like those birds?"

I couldn't understand what my Father was asking me then. I simply thought it was a test.

I thought about his question for a while…

"Oh Father, I know I cannot be like a bird. I am a human being and I do not know how to fly."

I smiled at him.

But, my Father was not smiling back at me.

Instead, he knelt down beside me to give me a hug.

I remember being held in his arms that day. His strong arms embracing my tiny body.

"I am…sorry…Neji, my son."

"Why are you saying sorry Father?"

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"You must get ready, we are leaving to go and meet the Main Family today."

He suddenly stood up.

The warmth that had been enveloping me until a few seconds ago disappeared.

"The…Main Family?"

I remembered how my Father and Mother would sometimes mention those words in their conversations before.

[Main Family [The Branch Family

Back then I was too young to understand what those words meant.

I remember being very excited back then since I never see my relatives unless on traditional Hyuga celebrations.

"Yes. Today is your cousin Hinata-sama's third birthday."

"Hinata-sama? My…cousin?"

I was surprised and at the same time very excited to hear about this cousin I have never met. There were no other children within our immediate family that was close to my own age, so I was anxious to meet Hinata-sama and to become friends with her.

"Yes. Hinata-sama is the [first-born of Lord Hiashi…

and [the one who will be leading the Hyuga clan in the next generation."

"I cannot wait to finally meet my cousin Father!"

My Father simply smiled at me.

But, what I didn't realize back then…

…was that his smile was a very sad one.

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"She's very cute, isn't she Father?"

I whispered to my Father while I stood there among the Hyuga adults.

But my Father did not say anything back. He was definitely acting strange that day.

"Father?...What's the matter?"

"Huh? Oh…it's nothing, my son. It's nothing."

And then that smile again…that sad smile.

Lord Hiashi came forward and told my Father,

"Well then, we'll be taking Neji, Hizashi."

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_What? _

"Yes." said my Father.

_Wait. Where am I going? _

Suddenly, I felt a strange chill run up and down my spine.

Something was definitely not right.

Lord Hiashi came up to me this time, and said,

"Come, Neji."

I was a bit afraid, and I looked up at my Father.

"It's alright, my son." He had that smile again.

"Be a good boy, and listen to your Lord Hiashi. I will see you very soon."

and with that, he pushed my back.

As I walked away with Lord Hiashi and the other adults of the Main Family, I remember looking back over my shoulder towards my Father.

To this day, I will not forget that expression on my Father as he watched me leave.

"I am sorry Neji."

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"Father…"

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Father?"

It looked like I had been asleep for some time.

I tried to get up, but just then a sharp pain shot through my whole entire body.

I cringed from the immense amount of pain.

"Neji-dono, are you awake?"

said a young woman as she opened the door to the room where I lay.

I did not recognize who she was. At that point, I couldn't care less who that woman was. The excruciating pain was all I was concerned about then.

"My…head…"

Then, I remembered.

"Please, be careful Neji-dono. Normally, you would still be asleep. It's going to be a while for the [jutsu to settle in,"

_The jutsu…_

"Please, rest for a little while longer."

Not really listening to what the care-taker was telling me, I felt my forehead, and saw that it had been neatly bandaged.

_[The ju-in…_

"I'm sorry I cannot be of much help to you Neji-dono. But, please rest. I must be getting back to the ceremony. Everybody in the mansion is very busy right now serving the members of the Main House for Hinata-sama's birthday ceremony."

_So that's what all the hustle and bustle was about outside of this room…_

"Here is some herbal tea for your pain. It might ease some of it away. Please drink this and go back to sleep."

The woman placed the pot of tea down.

"I will be back again later to come and check up on you. Please Neji-dono, go back to sleep, you need some rest."

Suddenly, we heard rushing footsteps out in the hallway.

And then, it stopped in front of the room.

"What is the matter?" asked the care-taker.

"Excuse me ma'am, but she is here."

The expression on the care-taker's face suddenly grew stern.

"Please lead her through to the hanare. I will let Lord Hiashi know that she has arrived."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And, please make sure that **nobody else sees her**."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The silhouette of the other woman disappeared along with her hurrying footsteps down the hall.

"Well, I will be back again later. But, please don't hesitate to call for me if you need any help. Excuse me Neji-dono."

And she too stood up to leave the room.

The room grew quiet again.

I stared at the tea and the steam rising from the cup.

I reached for the cup and slowly took a sip.

The warmth of the herbal tea did seem to soothe and relax my body a bit.

"This tea…such…a. sweet fragrance…"

Then, something hit me.

_What is this scent…?_

_I remember this scent…_

_from…somewhere…_

_this…sweet…soothing scent…_

_where…did…I…_

Suddenly, I realized that the sweet fragrance was growing stronger.

And I realized, it was not just the tea.

It was coming from outside of the room.

_Could it be??!!_

I got up, and went towards the door and slid it open just a crack and peeked…

to

see

[her

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Afterword, Also known as an Excuse

Thank you for waiting for such a long time for this chapter. I know, it's long and it seems like a pointless chapter. :-( But I hope you liked it.

I used the word "hanare" in there since I couldn't think of a good English equivalent for that word. Basically, in a lot of old Japanese mansions, you have the main buildings and then you usually have a detatched building at the end of the yard for guests to be lead into. Many times, the master of the home would actually greet people in the hanare when they don't want the meeting to be openly announced.

Oooooh, so I'm pretty sure who Neji saw at the end of the chapter is obvious. But, slowly but surely her mysterious background will be revealed.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto is the work owned by the author and artist Kishimoto.

Life; everything in it is preordained…

We are all born to live what was destined for us.

It doesn't matter if you wanted it or not.

Fair? Who said any of our lives were going to be fair?

All men were not created equal…

Only those who were destined to claim happiness will live happily…

While all the rest of us are trapped in misery like caged birds.

Just waiting…waiting for the only thing in life…

Every man shares…

[his **death**

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Himawari: Like the Summer Flower

**Chapter 4: A Summer Flower in the Middle of Winter**

While I stood there in that unfamiliar room…

I suddenly felt the whole world standing perfectly still…

…just like it did that hot summer day…

the footsteps of the many maids who were shuffling around the mansion grew silent,

and the voices that echoed from the banquet hall were suddenly hushed.

I stood there, perfectly still.

…that sweet scent…

…the one I remembered from the garden…

…from that day…

…the blazing summer sun…

…the cicadas…

…and the beautiful sunflowers…

All those familiar images came rushing back into my mind as the fragrance grew stronger and closer to where I stood.

Now, all I was able to hear was my unbelievably loud heartbeat…

_ba-bump_

Then, I saw her.

_ba-bump_

Coming down the hallway being led by her elderly care-taker.

_ba-bump_

This time, she was wearing a beautiful light green kimono magnificently trailing behind her as she walked. Even though it was in the middle of winter, and all of the plant-life outside were either dead or dying, her kimono made it look as though she brought back the spring season.

_ba-bump_

I could not see her face since she was hiding it well underneath a large veiled cap.

But I just knew.

It was [her.

_ba-bump_

She was coming closer…

_ba-bump_

to the door where I stood watching.

_ba-bump_

But, right when she was about to pass by my door,

"Oh, Miss Hibari, there you are."

A maid came rushing out to greet the two in the hallway.

They stopped walking as the maid came shuffling towards them and bowed her head deeply.

I hid myself behind the door just in time.

_Did they see me? _

_No, they couldn't have._

I thought. I even stopped breathing for a moment so they couldn't notice that I was listening in.

"Yes? What is it? We were just about to head over to the banquet hall."

said Hibari to the maid.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hibari. But Lord Hiashi would like for you to wait in the hanare."

"The hanare?"

The care-taker Hibari's voice suddenly grew unsteady.

"Yes. If you would let me show you to the hanare, Lord Hiashi and Hinata-sama would meet you there shortly."

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There was a moment of dead silence in that hallway.

Then, it was Hibari who broke it.

"H-How **dare **you…Do you understand who you are speaking to!?"

Hibari's voice and silhouette against the shoji door trembled both with anger and embarrassment.

"Forgive me, Miss Hibari."

"My lady has waited far too long to see Lord Hiashi for this sort of treatment! She deserves to be in that banquet hall right beside all the members of the Main Family the most! How dare you shun us into the hanare! Shame on you!"

"Hibari…that is enough."

Suddenly, a delicate but strong voice came from right behind me.

Her silhouette was standing there right next to me. Only the thin sliding shoji door was keeping us apart from each other.

My heart stopped.

So did Hibari's yelling.

"Hii-sama…"

Hibari's voice was no longer filled with anger.

"We did not come here to cause any trouble."

Her voice was so close to me.

"It is true…I have been anxious to see both Lord Hiashi and Hinata-sama for quite a while now."

So soft and soothing…

"But…I fully understand my position."

She suddenly sounded a little disappointed.

_["Are they too strange?" _

…just like that other time…

"So if Lord Hiashi wishes to meet me in the hanare…I will gladly wait for him there."

"Hii-sama…"

Hibari's voice trembled.

"I thank you for your kindness, Himawari-sama, please, follow me this way."

and the three of them began walking towards the end of the hallway.

_ba-bump_

My heart seemed to have suddenly started beating again.

And her scent started fading away.

I suddenly felt my legs grow weak under my own weight and I had to sit down in that spot.

"Himawari-sama…"

_So that was her name…_

_And she seems to be part of the Hyuga clan. _

_I wonder if she's part of the Main Family…_

_["But…I fully understand my position."_

I slid open the door even more this time and stuck just my head out first to check the hallway if anybody was around. The hallway was empty. All I heard were the faint voices from the banquet hall.

"_You must never enter the far west garden…"_

my father's voice echoed inside of my head.

"_Because everybody says not to! Duh!" _

then what that one child said to me after I asked why.

Ever since I can remember, I knew that as a Hyuga, I was to obey many rules of the family.

Maybe it was because I was too young, or maybe it was simply just in my nature to be so obedient.

I never thought of questioning those rules. Or asking, "why?"

But, while I snuck out of that room and ran down that hallway, past the noisy banquet hall, and towards the hanare, I wasn't thinking about obeying any Hyuga rules. Nor was I thinking about disobeying any or asking "why?"

I was simply running.

Not thinking about anything.

…just chasing after that faint fragrance she had left behind…

After word—

Argh. It feels like my chapters are just getting longer, and they're not really accomplishing anything. So sorry! But, thank you if you read this far. Please comment and give me some feedback. :-) Or if you have any questions about parts that confuse you, go ahead and ask away!

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	5. Chapter 5

Naruto is the property of its author and artist, Kishimoto.

Life; everything in it is preordained…

We are all born to live what was destined for us.

It doesn't matter if you wanted it or not.

Fair? Who said any of our lives were going to be fair?

All men were not created equal…

Only those who were destined to claim happiness will live happily…

While all the rest of us are trapped in misery like caged birds.

Just waiting…waiting for the only thing in life…

Every man shares…

[his **death**

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Himawari: Like the Summer Flower

**Chapter 5: One's True Happiness **

The hanare stood hidden at the ends of the mansion grounds…

…away from all the main buildings in the center…

…overlooking a beautiful pond surrounded by camellia bushes.

The cold water of the pond shivered when the winter winds blew.

I hid behind the bush closest to the hanare and listened.

Soon, I heard footsteps coming from down the hall. I hid well behind the bush and waited for the footsteps stop. It was Lord Hiashi and Hinata-sama. They both entered the hanare.

"Lord Hiashi, it has been a while."

Himawari-sama sounded happy.

"Yes, it certainly has."

Lord Hiashi also sounded very glad.

"How are…things, Himawari?...Are you doing well?"

"Yes, of course My Lord, and I don't know how I can thank you enough for that."

"Please, Himawari…it is the least that I can do. Do not thank me."

"……"

Himawari-sama was silent.

"Just ask me if there is anything you need. I will have it sent over right away."

Then I heard Himawari-sama giggle a little.

"No, no My Lord. That would not be necessary. You have already done so much for me."

"……."

This time, Lord Hiashi did not say anything.

"I am already in great debt to you, My Lord."

"…Himawari, please don't say that. I am simply doing what is normal. I want to take care of you…as much I can…I owe it to you, Himawari…"

"….."

Himawari-sama was silent again."

"…and I owe it to your moth--..

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"Nee-san…Himawari-neesan…"

Just then, a third voice entered into the conversation stopping Lord Hiashi from finishing what he was about to say.

It was Hinata-sama.

"Oh, Lord Hiashi, …please…enough about me. That's not why I am here today to speak to you about."

"Of course, Himawari."

"Himawari-neesan…I missed you…"

"Oh, I missed you, too. Hinata-sama."

Obviously, I wasn't able to see Himawari-sama's face from where I was hiding. But from her voice, I imagined her with such a gentle smile when she spoke to the young Hinata-sama.

"Hinata-sama is already three-years-old…how time seems to simply slip away…it feels like only a few days ago…when I saw her as an adorable baby in her mother's arms…"

Lord Hiashi stayed silent and did not reply with anything to that.

"She will become a great Hyuga, Lord Hiashi."

Himawari-sama said.

"Can you…see that happening, Himawari?"

Lord Hiashi sounded a bit concerned.

"No."

said Himawari-sama.

"But I believe it."

She sounded firm.

"She will become a great leader of the Hyuga Clan."

Suddenly, I heard footsteps rushing towards the hanare.

It was that care-taker who had brought me the tea earlier that day.

"Lord Hiashi…" she whispered in from outside of the door.

"Yes? What is it?"

called Lord Hiashi.

"The Madam has arrived at the banquet hall…and she is wondering where you are My Lord."

After the care-taker has brought them that news, silence has taken over the hanare.

"It's alright, Lord Hiashi,"

said Himawari-sama.

"please go back to the Lady Hyuga, and the banquet."

"But, Himawari, I…"

"I am happy, Lord Hiashi."

"……."

"I am simply overjoyed to have had this chance to see you and Hinata-sama today."

"Himawari…"

"On such an important day for Hinata-sama."

"I just…"

Lord Hiashi's voice was shaking a little bit.

"…want to apologize to you, Himawari…"

"For what Lord Hiashi?"

"I wish…I didn't have to…meet with you…in this sort of fashion…I really do…"

"I fully understand my position, My Lord."

Himawari-sama's words were strong contrasting Lord Hiashi.

"Lord Hiashi, I'm sorry, but you must hurry."

said the care-taker again.

"Yes, I know. Come, Hinata."

"Himawari-neesan…coming…too?"

It was clear that the young Hinata-sama did not want to part yet with Himawari-sama. Himawari-sama laughed a little and said to her softly,

"I'm so sorry Hinata-sama. But I cannot go with you. But I also promise that I will see you again very soon."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

And so, being led by the care-taker, Lord Hiashi and Hinata-sama followed by Himawari-sama's elderly care-taker Hibari came out of the hanare.

"Thank you for meeting with Himawari-sama today, Lord Hiashi."

she bowed her head.

"As I mentioned before, it is the least that I can do, Hibari."

"……"

"Promise me, that you will let me know if she needs anything."

"Yes, of course Lord Hiashi."

"Hibari."

"Yes, Lord Hiashi?"

"I know I tell you this every time, but…"

"……."

"…thank you, for watching over my daughter for me."

**[D A U G H T E R**

At that moment, the only thing that went through my head was one question:

_What!?_

After Word—

Wow! That one was pretty short. Since all of the other ones were uselesslly long, I thought I'd change it up a bit and make it a shorter. haha. I know that some of you have already figured this one out, but I hope some of you were surprised when you read this chapter. Please comment and give me some feedback. 

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